Political Churn Means Lots of New Faces in Los Angeles

As the famous political scientist George Carlin once said, politicians come and go… most often, never quickly enough. But after this week's primary elections in California, the city and county of Los Angeles are poised for the biggest turnover in leadership in more than a generation. Better yet, most of the candidates have a firm grasp on the importance of technology and infrastructure as economic drivers -- one of the few places where there's no partisan squabbling.

There are four prominent offices where Angelenos will see a changing of the guard after the general election in November:

Rep. Henry Waxman

Someone will replace Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), who announced his retirement this year. The recently redrawn 33rd Congressional District used to consist of ultra-liberal West LA, Malibu, and parts of the San Fernando Valley. Though Republican candidate Elan Carr bested Democrat Ted Lieu in the primary, both will vie for the seat that Waxman has held for the last 40 years. (Waxman has endorsed Lieu.)

This changing of the guard really began a year ago with the election of Mayor Eric Garcetti, who, at age 42, became LA's youngest mayor in more than a century. His predecessor, Antonio Villaraigosa, was hardly a senior citizen, but Garcetti has demonstrated more willingness to do the heavy lifting of running America's second-largest city. Also, unlike Villaraigosa, Garcetti doesn't appear to be using the office as a steppingstone to something grander.

"It's a generational change," said David Abel, publisher of the Planning Report and chairman of the green marketplace conference VerdeXchange. "It's a new generation of leaders coming to the arena who have at least one foot in the 21st century digital world we live in. And it's not as ideological as it was before where technology's concerned, and you have the Internet of Things flipping on its head everything that's unsustainable" in Los Angeles.

Gail Goldberg, executive director of the nonpartisan Urban Land Institute, said in a phone interview that LA's incoming leadership has two more basic challenges: hob creation and funding infrastructure.

"Economic development is the area of greatest need for this region, given all the jobs we've lost over the last 20 years," she said. "Other cities, great cities, have thought this out and set the table for those jobs to come in a way that isn't happening in LA."

Today's cities no longer expect financial help from federal or state sources, she said. "Cities that are doing upgrades are very entrepreneurial and are looking at public-private partnerships to fund infrastructure. Infrastructure is a huge issue for this region." She cited the area's four major airports, the port of Los Angeles, the pervasive highway network, and expanding light-rail and subway lines.

It's tempting to believe that the right politicians will get the right things built. A new stadium for a possible National Football League franchise is most likely the next big piece of infrastructure and will most likely be a public-private partnership, as Goldberg suggests. But it will be a billionaire like Philip Anschutz (and probably not this guy) who will get the job done. It's not politicians who put up the money or take on the risk.

That being said, candidates for public office in LA would be wise to campaign on fiscal responsibility between now and November as the county of 10.5 million people contemplates a new stadium, more light rail, or a fully tricked-out Internet of Things. That's what smart voters will be seeking in November. After all, they're ultimately responsible for the bill.

Re: Politics and policies Again, I 'm mostly in agreement, Dave. But I think by most measures, Gov. Jerry Brown has done a pretty creditable job from getting the state's balance sheet in order to taming the legislature (controlled by his own party). Political observers love to remind us that California is "ungovernable," and while Brown hasn't solved all our problems (drought, jobs), his prior experience has helped him and the state enormously.

Re: Politics and policies @Terry, I hope you are right. Because these issues need to be worked on and solved, not just talked about. I've lived in Los Angeles County all my life and have seen many issues go unresolved. They spend the money on other less important things.

I'm also not sure if seasoned is better than getting new blood in to office. New people with new ideas and the will to see those ideas turned into reality.

Re: Great news Thanks for your comment, 5thHorseman. I'm not as bullish on Uber and other online apps to address pain points like traffic congestion. More and better public transportation (bus routes, express buses, and continued expansion of LA's light rail network) will take more cars and passengers off the roads than Uber and Lyft can. New routes have also been shown to provide an economic boost to less developed or impoverished areas. That's not something Uber's really equipped to do either.

Re: Politics and policies I hear what you're saying, Dave... but Hilda Solis, Sheila Kuehl and/or Bobby Shriver are hardly political novices. They are seasoned politicans with varying degrees of experience. And yes, the sooner they can start solving the region's biggest problems (jobs, traffic, housing), the better for everyone, even if their aides are the ones with the ideas.

Re: Politics and policies Hi Walter: No, I don't expect a big change in direction or ideology. The local economy is doing just okay, job-wise, though housing prices (and rent costs) continue to increase. But the City (and County) or Los Angeles have had to reduce services and suspend them in some cases. Unless voters approve new taxes (highly unlikely), I think the new slate of leaders will be required to do more with less, exactly like their predecessors.

Great news I'm a Californian, but not living in the L.A. area. Los Angeles has a long history of being an impetus of change, and I hope it will spur such change in political leadership statewide. It is encouraging, to me, to see that so many people are voting for change. We must begin somewhere, and Los Angeles is the perfect place to demonstrate to all of California, and indeed America, that these career politicians that have been dug in like an Alabama tick CAN be replaced. I hope that Californians and all Americans finally realize that bad policies are created by bad politicians... and you can vote them out of office and bring in fresh, modern ideas that can make a positive difference. Those ideas are out there, and are making a difference today. "Davedgreat2000" mentioned L.A.'s traffic problems... great ideas like Uber.com have brilliantly married technology to solving transportation needs and have significantly increased transportation available to the public by involving the public and reduced the price of a ride at the same time. In addition, they've created self employment opportunity to anyone who owns a [decent, reliable, well maintained] car. These are the kinds of solutions we need more of, and I hope we will see more innovations like Uber when we turn over our leadership to younger, technology oriented citizens.

Re: upgrading I'm always a bit skeptical that new faces will bring significant changes to any city or county. There always seems to be too many vested interests to protect. Even though elected, there's always limitations in getting around existing laws, and enacting new rules to enable any quick progress.

upgrading Yes David, it would be great to see more new technology being utilised in a State that is world famous for new ideas and technology. Its a shame if the tech companies pass on upgrading their own back yards!

Re: Politics and policies With the same people in office over and over again, those holding city council positions, city managers etc. not much will change. Howerver, I think this mayor will be able to get things done, he has the will to do so. With new blood coming into the city council shortly, that will help speed things along. Of course there is a learning curve once you get into office but thats what Aides are for, to help move things along.

I sure hope they take care of our Roads and traffice problems. get rid of the idea of a football stadium in downtown L.A. and bring about more public transportation throughout the county. they are also building something like 5000 new apartments, but where are they going to fit all the cars on the roads? Parking? Jobs?

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